A Friend in the Business

Steve Cook of Clarke Gammon Wellers takes a look ahead at the 2018 autumn/winter property market in the final months of the pre-Brexit period.

Those of us who have been connected to the property market for many years will have seen a number of ups and downs. But I am quite sure we will all look back at this pre-Brexit period as being the most demanding.

This prolonged period of uncertainty, despite some underlying positives in the economy, has brought market activity to seemingly low levels for many buyers and sellers.

Buyers complain that there is nothing on the market. Sellers complain that there are no buyers. It’s understandable why they should do so. But both sets are wrong. There are in fact excellent properties on the market and there are certainly enough buyers. It’s just that there aren’t as many as we have all become used to over the past half-decade. Nor are some buyers and sellers quite as realistic as they could and should be in these testing times.

Waiting for Brexit to be over is certainly deterring some movers. But how will doing nothing help? The market is unlikely to shake off its torpor quickly after 29th March 2019. The effects of Brexit will, no doubt, linger on until some stability and acceptance has returned. But some people can’t wait a year or two for something to happen before they move. Nor should they.

By and large, governments and politics do not determine the property market. People do. So our advice, as ever, is to do what is right for you and your family in the near-to-middle term and not try to anticipate the market too much - especially in these uncertain times. We are in a period without precedence, but the two handmaidens of a successful sale - good presentation and accurate pricing still apply. Get those two things right and the market will love your property and you will have moved out quicker than you can say Michel Barnier.

Over the years we have moved thousands of people in all sorts of personal circumstances - many of them happy but some of them not so. But every single one of those moves was important. Call us about your house move. You will then find out what having a friend in the business really means. You see, good estate agency isn’t about economics or politics. It isn’t even all about property. But it is all about people.